


the princess and the bodyguard

by ariabones



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Angst, Attempted Kidnapping, Attempted Murder, Bodyguard Jacin, Bodyguard Scarlet, Bodyguard Thorne, Bodyguard Wolf, Bodygurad AU, Childhood Best Friends to Lovers, Dating Cresswell, F/M, Flashbacks, Headaches & Migraines, IT Specialist Cress, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kaider are off living their lives, Married Wolflet, Mental Health Issues, Politician Levana, Politics, Romace, Second Chances, Student Winter, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:08:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28069830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariabones/pseuds/ariabones
Summary: They haven't seen each other since she was sixteen, when she was forced to break his heartHe didn't know her stepmother had wanted him gone. He didn't know his whole family had been in danger. He didn't know she did what she did to keep him safe, keep him alive.It's been six years and with her life in danger, he was the last person she'd expected to be her bodyguard.
Relationships: Jacin Clay/Winter Hayle-Blackburn
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Prologue

Levana was in a bad mood when Winter got back from her afternoon class.

 _She’s always in a bad mood,_ a voice reminded her as she slipped off her shoes. Her step-mother was screaming at Sybil Mira- the person in charge of Levana’s political campaign but the woman’s face showed no fear at being reprimanded. In fact, her face was void of all emotion. She stared Levana in the eye- a brave feat, something most people were too terrified to even think about.

“-and I don’t care how much work it takes, it needs to be done by Monday. Am I understood?”

Sybil nodded once. “Yes Miss Blackburn.” 

Sybil left, passing Winter without a nod or greeting in acknowledgement. She didn’t mind being ignored; it was the simple state of things, especially since the incident. Her job was to make Levana look good.

_Smile when in public._

_Wave at them._

_Always be nice, especially to the kids._

_Do not talk to the press unless directed to._

The people adored her. They called her ‘Princess Winter’, a title worthy of such a kind, intelligent and compassionate person. When she was seventeen, an unplanned trip to the Children’s Cancer Hospital was captured by one of the nurses. The very next day, it was at the front cover of every newspaper; by the end of the week Levana’s approval ratings had tripled in size cementing her second term in office as Governor. Her step-mother should have been ecstatic, instead she had gotten angry. Home wasn’t pleasant when she was angry. Still, they smiled at all public events, held each other when being photographed- Winter always fought not to flinch each time- and they always portrayed the picture perfect family. But at home, she was ignored. The minute they stepped into the mansion, Levana would say, “Make sure to take your meds.” then leave.

Winter hadn’t felt loved in a long time. Five years to be exact. Five years since _he_ left.

Shaking her head, she quickly took the stairs to her room, shutting the door quietly behind her. Rubbing her shoulders, she dropped her bag on the bed before sinking into the window seat facing the woods behind the house.

Her bedroom door opened, Winter tensed. Her body went taut, her body’s fight or flight senses kicking in.

 _As if I could fight_ she thought bitterly.

She straightened her spine and turned to face her step-mother.

“You will skip class on Monday. I have an announcement to make regarding upcoming elections and you will be _needed_ ,” the word soured Levana’s expression, “there when I make it.”

Winter nodded. There was no need to put up a fight. Levana turned walking out when something dawned on Winter. “Isn’t this going to be your last year? You can’t run for Governor again.”

Her step-mother didn’t pause her walk out of Winter’s room.

“I’m running for President.”


	2. Chapter 2

There was a slight throbbing at the back of Winter’s head when she woke up that morning. It was manageable for the first half of the day but by the time her French class was coming to an end; she was nauseous, the bright light hurt her eyes and every sound felt like nails being scrapped against a wall. It all hurt.

The professor said something about an assignment but Winter was too busy ensuring her lunch didn’t end up decorating the room’s floor to pay attention. People started gathering their stuff to leave and the noise became too much. Throwing on the hood of her jacket, she rested her head on the surface, her hands covering her ears. She took deep calming breaths. In through her nose, out through her mouth.

Once. Twice. Thrice.

She kept on till everyone had left the hall. She sat back up and leaned back on her chair, letting her head tip back and faced the ceiling. Her headache persisted but with the room quiet and the lights off, it wasn’t as bad. It had been a while since she had a full blown migraine. It made sense though. She was in the final year of her International Relations degree plus with Levana’s campaign going on- the stress was getting to her. Luckily she always carried her pain killers in case of emergencies.

Once she swallowed down her prescribed pills, she waited for a few minutes for them to kick in. It was her last lecture of the day so she was in no hurry. The effects started to kick in and Winter finally felt that she could move. She grabbed her phone and texted the driver who was in charge of picking her up this week. 

The drivers changed every week. Ever since Levana caught one of her drivers taking photos which they meant to sell to the press, the staff changed constantly. At first, Winter tried to make friends with her new chauffeurs but with them changing every week- sometimes twice a week- and Levana having possibly threatened them not to make contact with her, she just didn’t see the point.

Winter didn’t see the point in a lot of things these days.

She started to walk to the pick-up point at the University. By the time she reached there, the chauffeur was already there. She opened the car door for her and Winter nodded at her before sliding into the back seat and buckled her seat belt on.

The black sedan ignited and they were on their way. The university wasn’t that far from the house. A thirty-minute drive with no traffic. The routes they took changed daily and that sometimes affected the journey time. No same route was taken twice a week and definitely not on the same day the following week.

For that day, they were taking the route that took them all the way downtown before coming back up. Winter repressed a sigh as she watched the streets through the window, her forehead resting on the cool glass. It did wonders for her lingering headache. That specific route took the longest. Nearly ninety minutes to get home. Winter had insisted that she didn’t want a bodyguard so that meant all these different roads to ensure her safety.

_Should have just said yes to Levana’s spies_ , Winter thought.

They stopped at an intersection. The red-light stopped them even though there weren’t any other cars crossing. Winter watched the car next to them. They were girls, all around her age. They were laughing as they sang along to a song that played on the radio. The front passenger turned and grabbed the driver, giving her a kiss. The other two in the backseat started groaning.

“Save all that for later you two.”

The driver waved the two away, leaning farther into the kiss.

Winter felt her heart constrict. Memories of what seemed a lifetime ago assaulting her. Memories of blonde hair and blue-gray eyes being the last thing she saw before her lips pressed against his.

The car started to move again, the other with the girls remained stationary, the driver still preoccupied. Winter’s eyes remained on them till the last second. Her eyes turned to the road and that’s when she saw the speeding car heading right for them.


End file.
